The European League of Legends Championship Series Spring Split Semifinals delivered two incredibly similar best-of-five series, with the favourites in each encounter dropping a single game on their way to victory.
G2 open with a mistake
G2 Esports squared off against Splyce, a team that ended the season strongly but still weren’t particularly fancied in this semifinal.
Game 1 was controlled by G2 for the majority of the match, but one element of poor positioning cost them the game. Feeling confident after recently acquiring the Baron buff, G2’s Hjarnan stepped too far forward on Jhin, dying before inflicting any damage within the fight. Splyce saw their opportunity, rushing after G2 and hunting them down, demolishing them before pushing in for the win.
In the second game G2 utilised a quality draft in order to gain a solid early lead, picking Swain, one of the best champions in the game, and flexing him into the Top lane in order to secure a winning match-up Mid (Cassiopeia into Ryze). G2 never looked back after their early edge and earned a solid 33-minute victory.
G2 win by the book
Game 3 came down to an incredibly close Baron on 27 minutes, when G2 narrowly secured the buff and shockingly escaped unharmed. From there G2 seized control of the game, slowly crippling Splyce while securing objective after objective in a by-the-book close out. The final nail in the coffin came on a poor Baron force by Splyce, which allowed Hjarnan to secure a quadra kill on Jhin that allowed G2 Esports to close out the game.
Game 4 once again came down to a nice adjustment in the pick and ban, this time utilising Fiora as a skill match-up into Camille. G2 used the pressure put on by Wunder’s Fiora in order to secure a Baron that broke the game open, as multiple members of Splyce were needed to stop Wunder from split pushing. This was everything G2 needed, as while it did take another Baron and some time, G2 remained in control the rest of the way, resulting in a 3-1 series win and a spot in the Finals.
Fnatic in top form
Bidding to join G2 in the Finals were favourites Fnatic as they faced Team Vitality, who had a roster that was largely made up of rookies.
Game 1 saw a surprise in the draft phase, with Fnatic opting to select two champions rarely seen these days; Zoe and in particular Nidalee. All split long Fnatic had been very calculated in their Jungler choices, continually placing Broxah on Tanks that could allow other players such as Caps and Rekkles to excel.
However, with Fnatic needing to use their substitute Top laner Bwipo due to an injury to sOAZ, they decided to put a new spin on their game. It worked to absolute perfection, with Fnatic wiping the floor with Vitality in the opening encounter.
Game 2 saw a different approach from Fnatic, this time putting their young Top lane substitute on Gangplank, one of the largest carries in the game. In another incredibly one-sided match-up, Fnatic dominated from early on for a 30-minute win, with all the momentum seeming to be in their favour.
Vitality show some life
Game 3 saw an unexpected recovery from Vitality though, with their only real change in the pick and ban coming from the AD Carry position where they flexed to a more hyper carry focused pick in Kog’maw. Otherwise the key for Vitality was finally securing an early advantage, putting Fnatic on the back foot. Even in a fairly quick 32 minutes, the game was close the entire way, with Vitality edging out the win.
With similar picks across the board, Fnatic led the way early in Game 4 around the play of Broxah and Caps. Game 4 saw Fnatic completely shut down Vitality’s Jiizuke; the key player for Vitality all split long. In another quick and simplistic match, Fnatic claimed a 30-minute win, placing them into the Finals where they will certainly be the favourites given their form.
Conclusion
Fnatic and G2 meet on Monday after finishing first and second respectively in the Spring Season before successfully navigating the Spring Playoffs. The two teams have appeared to be the best teams in the EU and now battle for the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational invite.
